Career and Personal Development - CHAMPS/LifeSkills

The CHAMPS/LifeSkills component of CATS was established to provide student-athletes the opportunity to grow in the areas of personal and career development, leadership and community outreach.

Personal Development

The Program of Excellence-The life skills program is designed to help UK student-athletes achieve success in all areas of life. C.A.T.S. offers services and resources to all intercollegiate teams and student-athletes promoting the total-person concept, addressing academic, career, community, personal, and athletic concerns. Presentations vary in length, but most will be approximately 60 minutes. UKAA staff as well as campus and community professionals will conduct the workshops, tailoring each to the specific needs of the team/student-athlete group.

CATS offers a leadership development class during the 8-week summer session during the month of July for student-athletes. The Summer Leadership Institute is designed to help up and coming student-athletes develop crucial leadership and character skills through the examination of various leadership philosophies. We believe that it is very important to have strong leaders to make positive contributions in all areas of their lives; therefore, we are providing the leadership training that will encourage our student-athletes to make an impact on their teammates, the university, and in the community.

The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is another organization that fosters leadership skills.

The Outreach Committee offers student-athletes the opportunity to educate their peers on the impact volunteering has on the community.